New Year's Resolutions: 2018

   While 2017 may not have been the best year on a national or global scale, it ended up being a great year on a personal scale. It started off to a rough beginning, but ended up having a massive turn around about half-way through the year concluding with me having a total perspective and attitude shift for the better. It was a year of self-discovery and pursuing things I love. A year of learning more about the world around me, and a year of learning to give back. So, I have high but realistic hopes going into 2018 that the year will be at least as good as the end of 2017 was and that I will continue growing as a person. My resolutions for 2018 are a little different from my usual ones, but I am excited for them.

My Motto for 2018 

   First we'll start off with my personal motto and reminder for the year: life may not get easier, but it can get better. It's kind of simplistic and cheesy, but I think it's a positive twist on the depressing reminder that life doesn't get easier. I want it to remind me that good things are worth working hard for, but also that hard work doesn't have to be something miserable. Now, onto the actual resolutions.

My Resolutions for 2018

1) Be honest with the people around you.

   If someone does something that is offensive or hurtful, I don't want to sit and stew about it, rather I need to be going to the person and letting them know how I feel. However, being honest also means remembering to let the people in your life know what they mean to you. I think a lot of the time we just assume that our friends and family members know we love them, but how often do we actually make a point of telling them we love them? I want to be better at making a point to be specific about appreciating certain character traits or actions of people I love. 

2) Tying into the first resolution, I want to be better at complimenting people.

   I obviously want the compliments to be genuine, but I also don't want them to have to be something super thoughtful and emotional all of the time. It can be something as simple as seeing a stranger's outfit and thinking that it looks great, but then actually telling the person that their outfit looks great. You never know how much of an impact a simple compliment can have, but it's 100% worth the two seconds it takes to say something nice. 

3) Take time for yourself, but don't be self-involved. 

   I think that it is super important to take time for yourself every once in a while to do something that may be totally unproductive, but is something you enjoy. As long as those times stay in the every once in a while category you should be good, as there is the danger of only ever focusing on yourself and ignoring those around you. 

4) Don't wait to get involved with something you feel strongly about.

   If you believe in something, find ways to get involved in groups or organizations as soon as possible. Don't just talk about it, do something about it. Individually I may not necessarily be able to make as big of an impact as I would be able to by working with a group of similar minded people. 

  

5) Don't let hobbies get pushed to the side.

   Hobbies can be a great tool for relaxation and creative inspiration. Personally, I want to work on writing poetry, make an art journal, and learning more about watercolors. 

6) Stay organized.

   Whether this is done through the notes and calendars on your phone, through a bullet journal, or any of the other variations of organizing; staying organized is crucial to accomplishing goals. I've found it's helpful to keep a big goals notebook, but then to take the steps to reach the big goals and put them into a daily to-do book. This helps to keep the big goals from seeming overwhelming or unattainable. As far as staying organized off of paper, I find picking one or two messier areas a week and focusing primarily on those seems to be the most beneficial for me. Be realistic about what you can do otherwise you may find yourself feeling discouraged if you aren't reaching your goals. Also, give yourself room to realize that sometimes life happens and you may not always be able to reach your goals that week.

7) Be overall healthier.

   Eat out less, drink water, do some type of exercise. Try to pick something that you will at least semi enjoy doing for your exercise to help with a lack of motivation. I'm going to start doing yoga again, and keeping a water bottle with me throughout the day (I've found drinking water is more tolerable with a bit of lemon, ice, and mint or lemon basil). Along with physical health, I think it's just as important to look after your mental health. One thing I've found helpful is something I call happy journaling. At the end of each night right before I go to bed, I write down good things that happened that day. Some days you may only be able to write down one simple thing such as the sky was blue, while other days may fill up a whole page. This shouldn't be used to try to ignore anything bad that happened that day, but it does help to end the day on a good note, and to remind yourself that while life isn't perfect there is always good in it. Of course, each person's mental health is different and should be treated as such. Something I find helpful may not be very helpful for someone else. 

8) Learn a new skill.

   This doesn't have to be something big, but it is good to try learning new skills and expanding your abilities. My skill to start learning this year is cooking. I'm notorious for burning everything and I haven't ever really enjoyed cooking, but I figure it is a pretty essential skill. I've gotten a cookbook that looked interesting to me to throw a little bit of excitement into the goal. 

   Those are my eight main goals for 2018. What are some of your  New Year's resolutions? 

- Also, this year I'm going to start trying to upload a new post each Monday at 5 pm Eastern Time, so be looking out for those!